The Little Soldier
by Millythecatlover
Summary: Hiccup is attacked by a soldier in the aftermath of a Berserker battle, launching the riders into all sorts of crazy endeavors afterwards. Join them as they dive deep into the world of the Berserkers, a conquering tribe in the archapelago sitting atop an empire of enslaved vikings. No weird OC ships. Slight Hiccstrid.
1. The Little Soldier

**This would be sometime during the Defenders of Berk series. This is the only story I have ever written and it will probably be the last. Try not to judge too harshly, I'm only a kid, not Thoreau. Sorry it's so long...and that the formatting looks weird.**

I swept my sopping hair back out of my eyes as I ran, pain shooting through my injured arm. My breath came in shocking stabs, and my rough panting could even be heard over the din of the storm and the shaking trees. Thunder boomed, and the sky lit up like a torch, illuminating the body of the relentless flying creature that pursued me. My legs weakened at the sight. My stomach turned inside of me at my sudden increase in speed. I ran on.

I threw myself to the ground as it dove towards me, it's jaws snapping shut where my legs had been a moment before. I scrambled to the side under the cover of rotting tree roots and shuddered at the metallic taste of blood leaking from inside my cheek; I must've bit it as I fell. Claws touched down outside of my hiding spot and a low and frustrated growl sounded as well. " Easy Bud…" it's rider chided.

I rubbed grime from my forehead and sucked in an unsteady breath as I drew my dagger out of it's filthy, mud-caked sheath, steeling myself for whatever attack the pair was readying. I unwound my bolas from about my waist, as I'd been using it as a belt, and swung it around in a whirring blur. I took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach. It would be better to strike before they did. The muted sounds of the sea battle reached my ears, and I closed my eyes, shakily whispering, "Sorry Dad…"

Hiccup's POV

"C'mon Bud, one's getting up in the woods!" Toothless snorted good-naturedly. Like you knew before me, he seemed to say. We surveyed the burning wreck of a ship before us, confident the runner was the only soldier not yet retreating with the rest of the Berserker Fleet.

I shouted to the gang at their respective positions, "We've got this one, we'll be back in a minute". We took off, Astrid shouting at me to hurry up so we could help Fishlegs with his boat. Toothless rose above the trees, slowing his pace to match that of the man's darkened form. Lightning crashed, and I saw that he was a fairly small fellow.

 _Toothless can overpower him easily,_ I thought. I shifted my foot back and Toothless responded, diving swiftly towards the soldier, snapping his jaws where he should've been, but was no more. _Yak dung!_ I mentally cursed. Toothless alit on the wet soil, snarling in frustration as he impatiently dug his talons into the mud. "Easy Bud…" I said, patting his neck. Toothless swiveled his head around, shifting into a tense, battle-ready position. I bent low over his neck, my shield's weight pressing familiarly down on my shoulders. Where could he have gone? I wondered.

I heard a faint whirring sound to my right and something hard struck me in the side of my head. I cried out. Spots danced before my eyes and someone tackled me off of Toothless, pushing me into the soft clay-like ground. I shoved the butt of my hand up into their filthy shoulder, trying to break their grip on me. Toothless whipped his head around and flared his wings, giving a mighty rage-filled screech that would've scared the life out of me had I been on the receiving end. The soldier's eyes widened as he tried to scramble away, but he was a bit slow.

Toothless, in turn, tackled the soldier to the ground, then grabbed him by his shoulder and flung him sideways into the air. The soldier's shriek was cut off abruptly as he crashed into one of the towering trees nearby, body crumpling awkwardly to the ground below.

Toothless eyes' widened as he came back to me, nuzzling my chest and sniffing around me for any serious injuries, crooning in that peculiar way of his. I slipped out of my shield and yanked it from the mud, staggering back as it popped out with a drippy-sounding squelch. Toothless caught me as I staggered back and propped me carefully upright, worred. I probed the the side of my head and winced as my fingers traveled to the bloody lump there, a souvenir of the recent scuffle which had previously occurred. I rubbed rain from my eyes and scratched his head. "I'm okay Bud." I reassured him, albeit unconvincingly. He crooned at me again in reply, licking my face as he did.

A stifled, hiccuping moan came from behind us. We turned around, searching the underbrush for the soldier. A lighting flash revealed a lump of mud that looked particularly human-like, so I we crept over to investigate, alert. The soldier's eyes appeared dazed and fearful. They were the only of his features I could tell apart from bloody mud surrounding his face. He doggedly clung to a worn, short dagger, the only weapon I could see on his person. I kicked it away from him, cautious after his bold attack before.

Toothless rumbled his disapproval of the soldier in his throat, and I had to agree. _He's so small!_ I thought. _He's barely my size. What idiot would ever let him fight?_ The rain came down harder as I stood watching the mud wash away from the soldier's face, curious as to why he was actually here. Toothless came up to the soldier, who whimpered pitifully. He brushed his snout against the soldier's face, sniffing him interestedly, off-handedly clearing away some of the bloody mud from his brow.

He passed out, either from pain or from fright I don't know, because at that moment, I was distracted by some crucial details I had missed in the dark. The "soldier" was about my own age, If not younger by his body size, and was clearly not part of the army. I don't even think he was a Berserker.

Oh, and "he," was actually a little girl.

...

 **Sorry, that was probably really bad, although I tend to be harsher on myself than other people are. Anyway, the next chapter will be up sometime, but I once again warn you, THIS WILL PROBABLY NEVER GET FINISHED, so if you don't want your dreams crushed like mine were you should stop reading this a chapter ago.**


	2. The Shivering Shores

My shoulder and temples throbbed when I came to, and the ground swayed beneath me violently. I could open only one of my eyes, the other having been plastered shut by the trickle of blood coming from behind my hairline. I almost fainted from the sight I beheld. I could see the bellies of two different dragons, slick with rain. I was between them, with only a muddy hammock separating me from falling to death.

I heaved violently, my stomach notifying me I was much too high for a Viking. Spots flashed in my field of vision as I felt a sharp stab of pain from deep in my shoulder. The last thing I saw was the face of a blonde girl about my age, peeking out at me from the edge of one of the dragons

 _My dad smiled down at me, his eyes laughing alongside the deep timbre of his voice. I giggled and twisted my stubby child's fingers into his plaited beard, feeling as secure as I always had in his lap. I took in the details of his weathered face, the crinkles of his brow, his deep smile lines turned upwards at the raising of his rosy cheeks._

 _His deep laugh fizzled out into a malicious hiss as my smile faltered uncertainly._

 _His face twisted and grew horns as he snarled down at me, his now talon-like fingers holding me fast. I screamed and tried to pull away, but was caught in the hideously deformed creature's claws. It multiplied and broke into a thousand terrible terrors, each shrieking with abandon as they circled and fought over me. One of them may not have posed a threat, but a veritable swarm was one of the most dangerous things any Viking could face._

 _I folded in on myself and began to wail like the infant I had become, unable to resist the dragons' numerous claws reaching in and pulling me up to the sky. Their talons tore at me as one terrible terror bent down and bit my forehead, leaving two deep gashes in my eyebrow. I shrieked as only a babe could._

 _A female warrior with a blurry face came and ripped the terrors away from me, barehanded and bloody, screaming with the intensity of a mother who's only child was in danger. I was torn away from the dragons and cradled against her tenderly, as a whirlwind of terrors surrounded us._

 _She bent and kissed my now slick forehead, tears streaming from her featureless face onto mine. I once again felt a whisper of her breath on my face, fluttering softly onto my eyelids as the woeful memory continued in full. "Goodbye", she whispered, as she used her body to shield me from the dragons. I wanted to scream at her not to do it for me, that I needed her, but my mouth couldn't move. It was just like the dream always was._

 _The terrors surrounded us until I could no longer see the sky and the dream went black from lack of light. I stood alone once again, lost in the imaginary void my mind had created as a paltry excuse for the closure I craved with my mother's death._

 _Alone again._

 _A deranged laugh broke through the darkness, appearing as a pulsating blue light around me._

 _"She's burning up." Someone someone said quietly, as a kaleidoscope of blurry colors cascaded across my field of vision. I couldn't tell what was really happening._

 _Warm colors exploded in my eyes, as if I had closed them before the sun. I opened them to witness a horrific but familiar scene._

 _Warships blockading our small harbor at night, their skrill emblem seen by all in the light from our burning huts._

 _Children running screaming from Berserkers with torches and axes, none of them armed, all of them younger than me. I was out of my body, watching myself desperately salvage a bolas from the smoking remains of our armory before tearing after the children in the town square, enemies hot on my heels._

 _Our parents had been separated from us by a throng of warriors at least a score in depth, with a rotating formation keeping the Berserkers at bay. They had been forced back from the shore and were surrounded by the warriors, fighting in vain to reach us. My dad was at the edge of the defensive circle, fending away direct attacks aimed at the elderly Vikings behind him._

 _I held a dagger in my right hand and the charred bolas in my other, whirling it around like a mace and chain. My best friend Kolbein stood a ways away from me, shield in hand, motioning for as many children to get behind him and I as possible. We tried to buy them some time to run by swinging our respective bolas and shield in the Berserker's faces. They remained tentative (I'm pretty sure it was because they didn't want a hunk of metal to the face, but I don't know). The kids clumped together behind us, small fists curled, facing outward in a defensible formation. They knew what was going on, and I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at my younger friends' determined faces._

 _Someone pushed their way out of the ranks. A younger man with a dragon horned helm elbowed his way through the army, impatience written plainly on his face. "Ugh, what is taking so long!" He stopped and sneered when he laid eyes on us._

 _"Vorg, what is this, 'cause it looks like a pair of snot-nosed teenagers have stopped you from nabbing the kids." He crossed his arms and leered at a man in the crowd. Vorg, I assumed, hung his head embarrasedly and answered,"It is sir…"_

 _The young man rolled his eyes."So why are you standing here, instead of grabbing them over there?" Vorg looked up doltishly. "Uh...because of the teen-"_

 _"Idiot! How hard is it to get rid of people who don't even weigh half as much as you!? Here, You do it like this-" He grabbed Vorg's arm and swung him around like a throwing hammer, sending him careening into the throng of soldiers. I stared at him in shock as he hefted his axe and advanced towards us, an unhinged, maniacal glee in his eyes._

 _Kolbein stepped forward carefully, nervously holding his shield in front of him, crouching low behind it. Fear was written on both of our faces, but this was our responsibility. As the oldest present, we were to be expected to protect the young. I swallowed uneasily, my dry throat making the affair no easier for me._

 _I crept forward as well, pressing my dagger firmly into Kolbein's free hand. He would make much better use of it than me. He looked at me gratefully and I began to swing my bolas beside us. The Viking charged and swung his axe at us, yelling wildly, the light of battle in his eyes. The last thing I saw was Kolbein's shield meet the edge of its viciously sharpened blade. The scene changed again._

 _I was back in my own body, dizzy from oxygen deprivation. I tried to breathe deeply, but could not. I was barely getting air into my lungs. It felt like something was constricting around my throat. The Berserker in front of me morphed into my father, and the army was suddenly in front of him, holding him back as he yelled my name in panic. I was on my knees next to the prone body of Kolbein, a gush of blood running from his forehead._

 _Tears squeezed from the corners of my eyes as the cord of my bolas threatened to choke the life out of me. The Viking we had been fighting was pulling it tight around my neck, giving a declaration that my life depended on. "Shoresmen! Aren't you in luck! I need some men for my army!" His mantra was delivered smoothly, as if he'd done this deal before. He grinned wickedly._

 _"You'll be working full time for Dagur the Deranged!" He laughed crazily. "Isn't this exciting people! What will you choose?" He paused dramatically. "Oh, there's no offers?" The adults by the shore were frozen, unable to speak._

 _"Well," he continued connivingly, "If you don't pick carefully, I think I might just pull this a little tighter." He violently did so to enunciate his point, and I gagged, unable to breathe at all now. My dad went crazy. The Berserkers restraining him were almost off of their feet. Black spots swam before my eyes, as I began to grow dizzy from lack of air._

 _The parents in the crowd were shocked into silence, unable to fully comprehend the things he was saying. Dagur peered around impatiently and started shouting again. "No one? Really? Oh well." He shrugged with fake nonchalance. "I guess I wasn't… convincing... enough. I think I just might have to move on to the others," he said, motioning to the children behind him, "starting with this one!"_

 _He kicked Kolbein in the ribs viciously, making him softly moan in pain. "Come on boy." He jeered. "Why don't you help yourself?" He repeated the action once more. Then once again, causing Kolbein to curl up in a ball, whimpering pitifully, trying to avoid the heavy blows. The parents in the middle of the Berserkers were hard put keeping someone from talking, knowing the situation would probably get worse if they had a chance to speak._

 _Dagur continued to taunt Kolbein, accentuating each of his jibes with a savage kick. He was crying. I dissolved into silent tears, unable to do anything for him. The Shoresman trying to speak finally broke away from the other parents, freeing himself for enough time to bellow a desperate "LEAVE MY SON ALONE!!!"_

 _I seized up inside, knowing full well who it was. Dagur turned and faced him, craftily inquiring. "Are you the chief of the Shivering Shores?" I couldn't help but admire his brutally shrewd question. If chief Gunnstein answered yes quickly, Dagur'd know how much he cared about his son, and know he was chief. If he froze, unable to decide what to say, he'd still know he was chief, and still know how much he cared about his son. Even If he wasn't chief, he'd still point our leader out, hoping to help Kolbein. He was too deep into trouble to do anything otherwise._

 _Gunnstein froze stood awkwardly in indecision, unable to make up his mind about what he should do. Dagur grinned wickedly and motioned for his soldiers to grab Kolbein. One of the men picked him up under the arms, letting his head loll forward. Another one grabbed him by his ankles. He dazedly looked me in the eye and opened his mouth, speaking with someone else's slightly more childish voice. "I think she has a fever. Do you need any more wet cloth?"_

 _I shivered violently as the Berserkers lifted him away, feeling like I was burning from the inside. My dream skipped a few beats._

 _I was sprinting along the deck of a ship at night, Kolbein close behind me. My bolas was now curiously wrapped around my waist, and I had somehow acquired a dagger. Kolbein held a weapon of his own. We crouched low, hoping that our heads couldn't be seen from any of the other ships in the fleet._

 _My feet faltered as nearly three days worth of food deprivation caught up with me. The Berserkers didn't feed their prisoners well. Some soldiers were spread out behind us, searching for us by the light of their sputtering torches, which were dimmed somewhat by the heavy rain of the sea storm._

 _The fleet was separating tonight, preparing to attack an isle called Berk that could be seen in the distance. The ships carrying all the children were going back to Berserker island. The one we were trying to board was getting ready for battle with our parents and the rest of Dagur's makeshift armada._

 _We had discovered that the practice of kidnapping and incarcerating the children of small tribes in the archipelago had been ongoing for the Berserkers. They kept us as collateral and used us against our parents, forcing them to serve under Dagur in his raiding parties._

 _Kolbein grabbed the back of my sopping shirt, pulling me behind some barrels to the side of the boat as some of the guards passed us by._

 _"Get up on the rigging," he gasped, out of breath, "we can jump from there." I nodded, too winded to speak of our plan at length. I grasped the ratlines leading up to the mainmast and swung my feet up underneath them, shimmying up the ropes upside down. Kolbein came up after me._

 _One of the soldiers searching gave a shout and pointed up at us, drawing the other's attention to us as well. I scrambled up on the main yard and hoisted Kolbein up alongside me, gripping the slick wood with the pads of my feet. We bent low and clutched the sturdy beam with our arms and legs, inching out over the water. The departing ship had her starboard side to our port side, which put her main yard slightly below ours, the perfect position for us to jump to._

 _The water roiled beneath us, oily, black and foreboding. I quashed the bile rising in my throat as I looked at how far down the deck of the next ship was. It was farther than I could've ever wanted. One of the search party's soldiers started to near the crow's nest, scurrying up the ratlines like a seasoned seaman. A long safety line trailed from his ankle, meant to keep lookouts from falling into the water. We had to hurry things up a bit here._

 _I carefully stood up, holding the smooth wood with my hands. The yard swayed in the wind, making the transition even more difficult than I'd anticipated. I let go of the crossbar, balancing only with the aid of my wheeling arms. Kolbein stood up and gripped my hand tightly, as much as to keep me from falling in the water as himself. He looked slightly sick._

 _I peered over his shoulder to find the Berserker racing out to us on the yard. I did a double take, a strangled noise escaping my throat. Kolbein noticed and whipped his head around, searching for what startled me. "Jump!" I yanked Kolbein off his feet and into the air with a yelp, extending my lead leg out as much as I could to reach the other ship. It wasn't far enough._

 _The wood rushed up to meet us. I managed to hook an arm and a leg over the yard, but my solar plexus hit the end of it, and all the air in my lungs whooshed out of me. My other arm was yanked down violently, my shoulder almost popping out of it's socket under Kolbein's weight. I locked my other leg around the yard as well, desperately trying to get air in my lungs while hanging on to Kolbein. I looked down to find the Berserker grabbing his ankles, still tied to the mainmast._

 _I couldn't breathe, couldn't talk, I couldn't do anything. Kolbein grabbed me with his other hand, trying to get enough leverage to throw off the other Viking. He thrashed his feet around in his tight grip, but the Berserker's arms didn't move an inch. He simply grunted his displeasure and held on tighter._

 _The ships drifted further apart, and the Berserker's safety line grew taught. Kolbein's hands started slipping from my arm, slick with rainwater. I let go of the yard with my other hand, clutching his wrist tight enough that it would leave a bruise. I was slowly sliding down the yard, still trying to catch my breath, my legs finding little purchase on the slippery wood._

 _Kolbein stared at me, then back at the Berserker. I clenched his arm tighter, gritting my teeth and clamping my legs down on the crossbar until they burned from rubbing against it. I closed my eyes as rain poured down my face. We weren't going to make it._

 _Then there was no more weight on my left arm, my circulation returning where Kolbein had gripped so tightly before. My eyes snapped open and focused on his face. He was looking at me decidedly. My eyes widened in panic and I squeezed his wrist even tighter than before, trying to speak. It came out a panicked whisper, as more water streamed down my face, and not just from the rain._

 _He tried to peel my fingers from his arm, frantically working as I neared the end of the yard. I slid closer to the edge. He peered up at me from his work, face softening as he noticed the terrified look in my eyes. He smiled at me sadly. "See you soon." He whispered. He dug his nails into a nerve bundle in my arm and it went dead, his wrist sliding out smoothly. I closed my eyes._

Wake Up!


	3. New Heights

**Okay, seriously, this for the one reader that I have who liked the story, but it would be nice to get feedback about what I write. Review if you feel up to it.**

I sat bolt upright, panicking. My shoulder burned and my back ached. Cloth tangled around me as I thrashed in an effort to sit up straight. Where was I?

My vision blurred with the after effects of sleeping, freaking me out even more. I breathed heavily, my heart tapping out a jumpy staccato beat. My face was slick with sweat and I shuddered as a wave of heat rolled through me. I tried to slow my breathing, slightly confused. I couldn't even remember what had transpired up until this point.

I quickly rubbed the sleep from my eyes, trying to get a decent look at my surroundings, trying to figure out a decent means of escape. I was in a small, makeshift bed off to the side of a tiny room, wearing clothes that were a bit big for me, my own nowhere I could see. The white woolen folds of the shirt I had hung loose from my slender frame, making it slightly awkward to move around. My right shoulder and left arm were wrapped in stiff white bandages, and all the blood and mud from earlier were gone. I was now very confused.

There were no guards, no locks, no restraining measures. Nothing to make this seem like some sort of cell. It didn't feel like I was being treated like a prisoner.

My stomach growled obnoxiously loudly and I immediately stiffened, suddenly realizing that I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten. To put it simply, I was ravenous.

I took in the homely, rustic furnishings of the petite hut I was in, hoping to find something worth eating. The wall hangings were mostly depictions of dragons, and especially of terrible terrors. I gave an involuntary shudder, a twinge of muffled pain coming from deep in my shoulder. So it'd probably be best not to move my arm so much then.

I methodically rubbed it, rolling it slowly under my fingers until it spasmed and caused me to gasp with pain. I pushed back the bandages to reveal a deep bite mark, traveling from the nape of my neck to my ribs. It was scabbed over, with no more bleeding. I stared at it, incredulous. It was almost completely healed.

I jumped as heard a voice outside the door, immediately back on edge. Someone was speaking a seemingly one-sided conversation. I mentally made note of all the ways I could get out of the house, the shuttered skylight, possibly the chimney. The door was unlikely since I'd have to get past whoever was outside.

Escape was imperative, but without knowing where I was or how to get away, it would be useless. I rolled out of the bed and padded up softly to the door, trying to glean information from the stranger's muffled monologue. I flinched as something heavily crunched up on the roof. Probably snow, I decided. The floor felt cold and uninviting under my bare feet.

"...no, she's not a Beser..." I heard. "I think it's abou...Is she awake yet?" I listened closer, hoping to maybe find something useful in what the person was saying. "Oh, never mind", they continued, and their voice grew stronger, as if they were coming near. "some halibut and bread. I guess we'll see." I sprang back from the door in panic, realizing that they were coming in. Now would be a good time to make an exit. I spun around and sprinted towards the skylight, but tripped over the hem of a thick wool carpet, sprawling on the floor. The door creaked open, and I immediately recognized the person there. It was the boy on the dragon.

He stared at me in a rather surprised way, mouth slightly agape. A hunched, silver-haired old woman and the huge black dragon stood behind him, eyeing me intensely. I panicked and scrambled to my feet, throwing open the skylight, intending to hop up and out to the ground below. I grabbed the frame, stuck my foot up on it, and tried to hoist myself up. My injured arm screamed in protest.

The boy snapped out of his dazed stupor. "Wait!" He shouted. I did not.

He grabbed the back of my shirt and I turned around to face him, my bottom now seated in the skylight's frame. I tried to push him off, keeping his body an arm's distance away from mine. He grabbed my foot to stop me from kicking at him, and once more tried to tell me to stop."Don't go out the-Augh!"I leaned back heavily, lifting him with my feet and pushing him over me and out the opening of the skylight.

We tumbled onto the hard wooden patio outside, trying to extricate ourselves from each other's holds, his around my middle and mine around his head. His hand flew up in my face, and I unceremoniously elbowed him wherever I could. There were no rules to this type of fighting.

We rolled over and over the deck, grunting in exertion, neither able to fully subdue the other. We tumbled around once again, with him finally coming out on top. He got a good look at my face as I gritted my teeth and once more flipped him over me with my feet, the last desperate move that I held up my sleeve. He held fast to my shirt front, vehemently refusing to let go. I began to feel like the tumbling fight would never end.

But then there was no more ground to fight on.

Hiccup's POV

We streaked through the sky, wheeling about like birds with broken wings, unable to direct our plunging, spiraled flight. Gothi's hut grew rapidly smaller above us and I yelled for Toothless to catch us. The girl clenched my shoulders tightly as we fell, her nails digging into my flesh. Her eyes were shut and she was screaming as we flew downward. Unfortunately, I was probably screaming more.

Toothless shrieked as he sliced towards us, fish and bread streaming from his saddlebag. He flapped madly, each stroke closing the remaining distance between us and him. His eyes flashed in alarm as we dropped closer and closer to the ground, his speed increasing as Berk drew up to meet us. The pain in my shoulders eased somewhat. The girl had stopped screaming, seemingly realizing there was no use in it, and simply stared at me, terror-stricken.

Toothless was struggling to keep up. We were too close to Berk for a clean save. He folded his wings to his sides and clenched the girl's shoulder, pulling us to him and away from Berk's back cliff face. She shrieked in pain and scrabbled at his talons in desperation, letting go of me as she did.

Time seemed to slow as we reached the last small stretch of the sky. Toothless's eyes widened as he gave a panicked screech, desperately reaching for me with his wing. He wrapped his other around the girl, shielding her from the impending collision with the ocean. I grasped the bottom of his wing membrane, pulling myself closer to his body, but it was too late, we were too close to the water. He cinched his wing around the top half of my body, but left my legs sticking out awkwardly. I shut my eyes.

 _Oh Thor_.

Then we hit the water.


End file.
